An anti-suicide project set up in Liverpool in honour of a man who took his own life now helps countless others. Due to societal expectations, men bottle things up with devastating effects. This is something Jessica Gallier knows all too well. Her father took his own life in 2017. The lifelong Liverpool fan’s death shocked his friends and family who had no idea what he was going through. Yet from tragedy there is action. Jessica set up her Man Cave project (called the Martin Gallier Project) to help other men struggling with mental illness.
About Jessica’s Brilliant Man Cave Project
The charity’s premise is simple: a safe space for men to meet up, to talk, and socialise and get help and support. Support with and among other men is one of the keys to overcoming isolation, loneliness, and mental illness struggles unique to men. Now, Jessica’s Man Cave project in honour of her father is celebrating receiving a fantastic People’s Health Trust grant. Worth £31,449, Jessica set the money aside for a new Man Cave project called Martin’s Man Cave. Local media interviewed daughter Jessica; she said Martin was open with his feelings but family did not know how to support her father.
On the outside, Martin was a clown, always making people laugh. But on the inside, he went through pain and struggle that nobody knew how to do anything about. Hopefully, Jessica’s new Man Cave project in the Wirral which started from a small suicide prevention project, will help men just like Martin. It’s run by men, for men, in a supportive environment. While it provides a space for men to connect, it is primarily for reducing stigma around suicide and offer support. One of the key factors for Martin was the lack of knowing where to look to get help.